Ava goes to school

I was perusing a website I frequent (thebump.com) on the message boards the other day and saw someone post about taking their little one to Gymboree for a 45 minute class and how much they enjoyed it. It got me thinking and soon I was in-motion with my research and seeking out skills. I set up a demo/free class at a Gymboree near us for this past Monday afternoon.

Let's just say that it went so well that we are now signed up to go twice per week. She LOVED it. All the vibrant colors, the singing and interaction and the mobility encouragement really had her active, alert and smiling. (And standing, bouncing, screeching, laughing, raspberrying, etc.) Our teacher was really great too and the environment was perfect, not overwhelming. I'm learning certain little things that indicate her development and also things to do with her at home to work on her motor skills, dexterity & strength. She's doing unreal so far. Daddy will get to come to school with us on July 15th and see first hand what an honor student his daughter is.

Little chicky is eating very, very well. She gets fruit cereal in the morning along with her bottle, a vegetable at lunch with a bottle, and a fruit & banana oatmeal at dinner with her bottle. She also loves to watch the cartoons on Noggin and when she hears certain characters or songs she likes and recognizes she makes short grunts/groans to tell us she likes it. She is also in love with the pool/jacuzzi control panel on the wall, the alarm panels and the a/c thermostat. I try to take her swimming every day since she loves that too. She can kick her feet when I ask her too and "swim" toward a target on the side of the pool. Next up we will work on blowing bubbles.

We hope everyone is doing great, and we send our best!!

Kris, Bobby & Baby Ava

Catching Up

I am such a slacker! I guess I figure that my readers are also my friends on Facebook so they always see the latest & greatest on there. If you're not, than I am most happy to update everyone on Ava's progress. Thanks to my good friend Steph for the kick-in-the-butt to get blogging.

Ava had her 6 month checkup last Friday and she continues to be "off the charts". She is 19.5 pounds and 28 inches. We are feeding her two to three solid meals per day along with her bottles. So far she's mostly had vegetables and banana oatmeal but we are now starting to introduce fruits. Luckily there's been no sign of allergies so we're all good there.

The sleeping at night has gotten a bit better, but she is still up every 4 hours to take a bottle. She loves flashy/loud toys and also loves to stand! She is 95% the way to sitting up on her own, and I think she might be crawling soon too. Those stubborn bottom teeth still are not through the surface so we're waiting on those as well.

Not much else to report - we are all doing very well and everyday is a gift with this precious little one in our lives :-)

Here she is going to town on a teething biscuit


At the Jimmy Buffet festival in Palm Harbor

Mothers Day

Since Bobby had to work on Mothers Day, Ava and I packed up the diaper bag and stroller and headed to the hospital to hang out with Daddy in the call room. It was quit nice actually, and I got a nice nap in too. Bobby surprised me with flowers and a new camera!! I am so excited to get more familiar with it. For now, here are some test runs with it.

Pictures

It's Been a While....

So I'm a bad blogger and have been on hiatus, so sorry. We've been quite busy with a few unexepected events lately and hopefully in the coming weeks things will start to even out. I've also been dealing with a bout of post-partum depression which I decided to see the doctor about. PPD is not something to take lightly. I was in serious denial for a long time until one day last week it clicked. I'm very happy to report that I'm doing MUCH better and each day gets even better and better.

I have also started doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. It is perfect for my lifestyle routine - when Ava goes down for her morning nap, I pop in the dvd and "shred" for the required 20 mins. Today I completed day 4. My goal is to lose these last 10 stubborn pounds that I blame Cracker Barrell, Five Guys Burgers, & Moe's on.

On to Miss Ava, she is doing SPECTACULAR! Rolling over, sleeping on her tummy during the day, and two bottom teeth are trying their hardest to poke through. We go on daily walks in our neighborhood and in the pond across the street lives about a 12 foot alligator that we go say hi to. Ava loves riding in her stroller (facing forward now, big-girl style). She also now eats one meal a day in her high chair, from a spoon! I am giving her the apple rice cereal so it has some flavor, and she's still learning but eats all that I give her. I think she's quite proud of herself.

Here's a couple photos of her in her stroller while mommy was sunning herself nearby:



Ava is 5 months old.

Off the Chart Girl

Almost forgot! Ava had her 4 month check-up last Friday morning. I had been dreading it since I had to take her by myself and knew she was due for a series of shots. So we get there, get put into a room and I get her clothes off and head out to the scale. I told the nurse I predicted she weighs 14.7 - I place her on the scale and boy was I shocked to see it read 16 pounds even! My big girl is an eater! The nurse laughed at me and felt the need to call another nurse over and tell her what I predicted and showed her what the scale said. I was a bit off wouldn't ya say? She is also measuring 26 inches long which puts her "off the chart" as far as height percentile, and in the 92nd percentile for her weight.

Her daddy now calls her "off the chart girl" and makes up a rap song to sing to her about it. It's the funniest thing and she loves it. So long story short, our girl is very, very healthy and growing at an alarming rate. The shots I was dreading were not bad at all. She wailed for about 10 seconds and I was able to calm her and she was fine after that. I didn't even cry this time, and surprisingly she was not fussy at all or did she spike a fever afterward. Life is good!

Easter

Ok so I'm a bad mom - this is the only picture I got of Ava on her 1st Easter.



Yes I understand that her dress is over her head. She likes it when I'm undressing her and her outfits get "stuck" like that. She just smiles and laughs at me like it's the funniest thing in the whole world. Daddy was making her giggle for this picture by making a popping sound with his mouth. That sounds is a fail-proof way to get her to smile and/or laugh. That and our big red clock that she can see from the couch. Something about that clock just tickles her to death and she feels the need to flirt with it which Daddy isn't too happy about, haha!

Yes, I also understand that she looks exactly like her father in this picture. There is no need to remind me of this as I get it from at least one person every single day. At least there is no denying that she is his kid!

We hope everyone had a fantastic Easter/Passover whatever it is you celebrate. Ours was fun and filled with family, laughter and of course lots of love all around.

Ava is 4 and a half months old.

One Year Ago Today

I was staring at this with my jaw on the floor:


One year later, and I am now happily starting at this with uncontrollable perma-grin:


What a difference one year can make!

Easter Bunny!!

Today we took Little Miss A to Citrus Park Mall to meet the Easter Bunny. She stared in amazement at this big fuzzy creature before her. It only took about 10 seconds to elicit a smile out of her and get a snapshot. I, of course was in the corner getting teary-eyed because she's growing so fast - right before my eyes and there isn't a single thing I can do about it except to relish each and every millisecond with her.

Ava is 4 months old.

Milestones

Today was a very special day. My little girl learned how to use her feet. She was on her playmat and accidentally kicked one of the dangly things that plays a tune. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at it in amazement with her mouth wide open. What happened next was truly out-of-this-world.

She took her foot and kicked it again! I witnessed all of this and was very quick to praise her and show her how to use both feet. Now she won't stop kicking them and I think she's even trying to flip her playmat by hooking her legs behind the striped arch thingy. She knows exactly what she's doing and is very intent on kicking the penguin (which is the one that makes the music).

I am so proud of her!! I've tried to show her how to use her hands, but I think that will be a few more days. She's on the verge though. Oh and thumb-sucking commenced today too. Lovely.

I've decided it's time to start weaning her off breastfeeding and transition to formula. It will be a slow transition and we'll work on it more after our trip to NY next Thursday. She doesn't sleep well at all and it's starting to really wear on me. Right now she'll sleep a good 3-4 hours from 8 til midnight or so, and then she's up every two hours like clockwork from then on. Last night she was up 4 times. I'm a total zombie throughout the day so I guess that's my hint to retire the boobs. I'm okay with it, at first I had serious feelings of guilt just thinking about it. But now something's telling me it's time. Wish me luck and also wish me tons of sleep please.

Ava is 14 weeks old.

My Big Girl

Somebody is 3 months old today! She is growing so fast, as most babies do. Here's a little montage in honor of our love for our baby girl.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Check THIS out!

A Mongolian Spot, Mongolian Fleck or Mongolian Blue Spot is a benign flat congenital birthmark with wavy borders and irregular shape, most common among East Asians and Turks, and named after Mongolians. It is also extremely prevalent among East Africans and Native Americans. It normally disappears three to five years after birth and almost always by puberty. The most common color is blue, although they can be blue-gray, blue-black or even deep brown.

Prevalence

Mongolian spots are most prevalent among Mongols, Turks, and other Asian groups, such as the Chinese, Japanese, and especially the Koreans. Nearly all East Asian infants are born with one or more Mongolian spots. It is also common if only one of the parents is East Asian. Among East African infants it is found at rates between 90-95% and 85-90% of Native American infants.

The incidence among Caucasians, that is, the indigenous peoples of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan, north India, Bangladesh) is between 1-10%.

However, it has been found to be prominent among Europeans that have had extensive interaction with Hun cultures or a central asian origin, most notably the Hungarians who have a 22.6% occurrence rate among their population.

There is an incidence of 50-70% among the countries of the Americas, as a result of the Native American admixture found in mestizos (people of mixed European and Native American ancestry) that is an important racial group among some countries.

Examples:

Ava the Mongolian Baby:

You can't see them very well in the picture, but I assure you they are there. In fact, they were documented at her birth by the doctors and nurses due to the fact that they appear similar to bruises. Should some misinformed soul ever mistake them for abuse, we have all our bases covered.

Where on earth did they come from you ask? After some asking around and digging up family history and heritages, my mom told me I had one as well. She thinks it may have come from her father's side who had Native American Indian influences. Woo hoo!! Add that to the list of traits she's gotten from me so far.

I think she may inherit her father's musical talent. I caught this jam session earlier today:

Luv X Infinity

Here ye, here ye

Last weekend we traveled to Indiana with Ava to visit my relatives. I really wanted my Grandmother to meet Ava. My Grandma is 90 years old and in an assisted living facility. The trip was short but sweet. Ava did beautifully on the airplanes, and was so extremely patient and tolerant of being passed around from person to person. I think she charmed the pants off of everyone!

History was made, and I was extremely emotional witnessing this very special moment:


Ava smiled and told her life story to her Great-Grandma. We got it all on video too! I honestly never thought I would have the chance to experience this. Funny how life is.

P.S. I want to give a big shout out to Shawna's mom whom I understand is a loyal follower. HI SHAWNA'S MOM!

Ava is now 11.5 weeks old.

2 Month Check-up

We survived. Well, I survived I guess I should say. I promised myself I wouldn't break down and cry this time - I'm not that hormonal anymore. I was fine until Bob brought her back out to the waiting room and handed her over to me. I saw a tiny wet spot on his shirt from her tears. TEARS. REAL TEARS!!! My baby was crying real tears from getting those two nasty, traumatic shots in the leg. My world came crumbling down. I snatched her and just held on to her and we both cried as we walked out to the car. She quickly calmed down and actually started smiling again, but I continued the guilt-ridden water works the whole way home AGAIN.

Once we got home I fed her and she passed out for a couple of hours. She was pretty cranky for the rest of the night which was to be expected but we just gave her extra love (and some infant tylenol) and she was good. Today is much better, she is back to being my smiley little girl who likes to be held in a "standing" position. That's right, 10 weeks old and already wants to stand. Where did my tiny newborn go?????

Ava is doing great! She weighs 12 pounds, 3 ounces and is a whopping 24 inches long. She's going to by my tall & skinny supermodel. She also likes to talk quite a bit still and just cracks us up several times a day.

Ava is taking her first plane trip this weekend to Indiana to meet her 90 year-old great grandmother. Wish us luck with the trip, hopefully she will do just fine.

Ava is ten weeks old.

Keep Your Snit to Yourself

I saw this on another blog and HAD to post it here. Click on the image to make it larger.

Little Rock-n-Roller

Here's Ava rocking a Slayer onesie. Her daddy is so proud!


She is really starting to talk to us quite a bit. I think she inherited her father's gift of gab. Her favorite word is "whoooooooo". Her next dr. appt is Monday the 9th, let's see how much weight Piggy has gained. I am going to guess she weighs close to 14 pounds.

Ava is 9 weeks old.

My Sweet Baby Love

I just had to post this picture. Ava was sitting on my lap as I was perusing the internet on my laptop while her Daddy and Grandpa were playing pool in our dining area. She was *supposed* to be in bed, however, I had her up for a little while since she wasn't very sleepy yet. She was full of smiles and just as sweet as sugar. I was eating it up. It's moments like this that erase all the sleepless nights, weight gain, reflux, achy back, waddling and all the not-so-great pregnancy and postpartum trials and tribulations that moms and new parents are faced with. With that said, I found a poem that hit home (and brought tears to my eyes). Here it is:

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
Or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
My plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
And my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
So doctors could do tests. Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
Watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
When I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
Could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
Having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
To feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
Between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
Could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
The joy,
The love,
The heartache,
The wonderment
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom..

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
Before I Was a Mom.



~Ava is 8 weeks old.

Delivering Smiles

Ava has started smiling back at us. Let me tell you, nothing melts your heart more than your own child smiling at you. Oh, she also has a best friend - the fan! She has conversations with him and just is mesmerized by him, that silly fan. If I turn the fan on for a second to make it move, she stops, her jaw drops and her eyes get big as if she's saying, "wow that is AMAZING". It's hysterical. Oh the things that tickle you when you have a baby!

Ava is 7 weeks, one day old.

6 Weeks Old Today!

Piggy-poo turns 6 weeks old today. My baby girl isn't so much a newborn anymore :-( I knew this would happen - she's growing so fast. Faster than mommy would like.

To celebrate her 6 weeks of existence, Ava projectile vomited on me twice and "sharted" while I was changing her - ALL over the wipe warmer, diaper supply and the wall. She's so special & talented. At least she was smiling and cooing afterward, I guess she was quite proud of herself.

She is her father's child for sure!

Little Miss Piggy

Ava had her 5 week checkup yesterday at Dr. Armstrong's office. Bobby and I were estimating her weight to be around or just under 10 pounds. Yea well little miss piglet had a different plan. I put her on the scale and it reads 10 pounds, 15 ounces. That is just one ounce shy of 11 pounds! She is also almost 2 feet tall, LOL! Her length was 22.75 inches. The doctor said she is doing great and everything is perfectly proportionate and growing excellently. I think I'll keep her on the liquid gold for a while longer, it seems to really be agreeing with her well. (Liquid gold=mom's milk) She also had to have a shot yesterday in which I left the room while her daddy stayed with her. I proceeded to wait in the waiting room and cry more than she did. Seriously, it was worse on me than it was on her. She got some extra mommy cuddle time last night and this morning to make up for the traumatic event.

Here's a brand new picture of my little piggy angel taken this morning:

She has a few more chins now than when she was first born, and fell right asleep after I snapped this picture. Time to get some chores done before she wakes up!

Ava is 5 weeks, 1 day.